Ohio Recruiting + Transfer Update

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The months of August and September are crucial for seniors to make commitments and transfer to their senior year high school. In this article we'll break down some major transfer and recruiting news.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top players leave state for out of state Schools</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 2025 and 2026 class, two players in our top 7 have transferred to prep programs. Nikola Bundalo moves from Western Reserve Academy to Prolific Prep, teaming up with fellow 330 native Darryn Peterson. Kruz McClure also made the move to DME Academy in Wisconsin, closer to DePaul where he is committed at the college level. King Kendrick is headed to North Carolina as he teams up with Cole Cloer at Caldwell Academy. Nate Miles is headed out of Toledo and now at Huntington Prep. Both of these 2026 prospects have numerous Division I offers and were ranked 5th and 6th respectively in our rankings prior to the moves. Gavin Lightning is another 2026 prospect with Division I offers who has moved out of the state to a prep school in Florida.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ohio State lands in-state 2026 duo</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1705948' first='Marcus' last='Johnson'] was one of the first marquee prospects in the 2026 class to announce a college commitment. The Garfield Heights star committed to Ohio State shortly after Jake Diebler was announced as the permanent head coach of the Buckeyes. Diebler also locked up one of the top local prospects from the Columbus area in [player_tooltip player_id='1708701' first='Alex' last='Smith']. This duo is ranked 2nd and 3rd in our rankings and give the Buckeyes a great start to their 2026 class.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2025 prospects make committments</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ohio State also got an in-state commitment from a 2025 prospect as [player_tooltip player_id='1432015' first='Dorian' last='Jones'] is headed to Columbus from Richmond Heights. Jones wasn't the only Spartan who made their commitment, [player_tooltip player_id='1432006' first='De'Erick' last='Barber'] is headed to UTEP. Columbus area prospects have also made commitments, [player_tooltip player_id='1708714' first='Josh' last='Henderson'] blew up this summer and will head to Akron. Henderson joins [player_tooltip player_id='1480850' first='Tai' last='Perkins'] as Westerville rivals teaming up for the Zips. [player_tooltip player_id='1480848' first='Devin' last='Brown'] is going to Davidson. Reynoldsburg duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1432017' first='Jordan' last='Fisher'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1432037' first='Toby' last='Nwokolo'] will be MAC rivals at OU and Toledo respectively. Finally, Landon Vanderwalker is going to Kent State. A few Dayton area prospects have made their commitments, [player_tooltip player_id='1432016' first='Rj' last='Greer'] is headed to 2024 final four program Nc State. Greer's high school teammate [player_tooltip player_id='2028558' first='Brady' last='Conner'] will stay close to home at Wright State, his older brother Jacob is a Dayton Flyer. [player_tooltip player_id='1432042' first='Eli' last='Greenberg'] is the most recent 2025 commit, going to recently promoted to Division I Le Moyne. In the Cincinnati area, [player_tooltip player_id='1432033' first='Kingston' last='Land'] is committed to Indiana State and should be back healthy sometime this winter. [player_tooltip player_id='1285295' first='Trey' last='Perry'] stays close to home and commits to Miami (OH) and [player_tooltip player_id='1812061' first='Tommy' last='Clark'] commits to Bellarmine. Currently there are only five Division II commits in Ohio's 2025 class. Four are currently headed to West Liberty as [player_tooltip player_id='1462535' first='Cam' last='Williams'], [player_tooltip player_id='1888322' first='Bennett' last='Kayser'], [player_tooltip player_id='1432013' first='Myles' last='Montgomery'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1408521' first='Aiden' last='Davis'] are all committed to the Hilltoppers. Finally, [player_tooltip player_id='1469018' first='Jaden' last='Calloway'] is committed to Gannon who had a lot of success with Derrick James as a central Ohio guard last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->